Like Mike, it's the Gary Coleman connotations that kill it for me. I have no partiality towards Sears Roebuck (I think the last time I was actually in a Sears was in grade school), but Willis Tower is just... too Diff'rent Strokes for me.

The Sears Tower is iconic, so that's why it's name stays the way it is. As for Comiskey, the word "Comiskey" rolls off the tongue so much better, especially when one is drunk. So I say, "I'm going down to Comiskey to watch a game."

Sears? Sears sucks. What has Sears done for Chicago other then the name of the building. They do not contribute anything to Chicago. Is there even a Sears store here? If so, I am not going and neither are you.
Bring on Willis. Its a company that will employ folks and give back to the community, I hope.

As for me, it'll always be Sears Tower. Not for any "Leave Chicago the way it is" attitude (though there is a little bit of that), but just out of habit. Though I have on occasion called "Macy's" by its new name, only because the name Macy's is already famous. Whereas Willis...

Is there even a Sears store here? If so, I am not going and neither are you.

Are you serious? Try walking down 2 N. State street sometime, buddy. Or west on Lawrence. Or the Three Corners area. Or East 79th Street. Or 76th and Cicero. Or any of the other five or six locations. Sears probably employs more Chicagoans that Willis in Chicago does or ever will. That's what they've done for Chicago.

Well, I still call the Amoco Building the Amoco Building. I think that is the AON building, now, But It will always be the Amoco Building.
And it's Sox Park. Comiskular. The Cell.
It will probably always be the Hancock.
And So, It will probably always be Sears tower.
Although, I am warming to the idea of Wesley Willis Tower, because I have three drawings by Wesley, all of them have the "tower" in them.

No, I will not be calling it by its new name. It was and always will be the Sears Tower. You wouldn't rename the Chrysler Building, or the Empire State Building, so why rename the Sears Tower? That's total crap.

And yes, I still call the Allstate Arena the Horizon, and the US Bank Ampitheater is still the World. US Cellular Field is either New Comiskey or Sox Park.

What bothers me about the name change is simply that it allows our cultural heritage (and IMO that does include local landmarks) to be bought and sold. I'm really offended by that. If something is part of the local culture, you leave it be. IMO, it shows a complete lack of respect for the people in the community.

And yes, I still call the Allstate Arena the Horizon, and the US Bank Ampitheater is still the World. US Cellular Field is either New Comiskey or Sox Park.

Wow...so how are things back there in 1989? Have they killed Salman Rushdie yet? And as long as he doesn't do anything stupid, I hear Pete Rose is a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame.

Just kidding, eee. I totally get where you're coming from. I don't really like the name-changing of things that are Chicago cultural icons either. I would think they would like to continue to capitalize on the already-famous name. But what do I know, I'm not big-shot PR guy.

hell, I still call the whatever it's called now Poplar Creek. It's too confusing to change names from one corporations name to another. It seems short sighted. Places like Soldier Field, Sear's tower Comiskey, Wrigley, etc... should just keep the names they have (even if they are also corporate names i.e. wrigley, hancock), and new places should be given names that have meaning to the place they are built and not some random corporate name, like U.S Cellular Field. The United Center works because United is actually a word that has a meaning other than an airline. Millenium Park is a good name that will always have meaning and I hope the money grubbing bastards don't change it to Citibank park or soemthing equally obnoxious.

anyway, in our house it's called the Serious Tower, and that is what it shall remain. Though, I too like the idea of Wesley Willis Tower.

The Cell is actually a much better park since they renamed it US Cellular Field, due to the improvements made with the sponsorship money. To the commenter who wrote "I still refer to White Sox home as Comiskey Park, and I've never been to a game", I suggest making a trip to the South Side.

And I never thought of that park as Comiskey anyway. Comiskey Park was torn down in 1991.

Regarding the Sears Tower, that's a different situation, since it's much more of a landmark than US Cellular Field. The Sears Tower is more iconic to Chicago. So I will probably continue calling it Sears for the foreseeable future. I'm not sure how long Willis has purchased the naming rights anyway-- my guess is, it will be renamed to something else in 10 years. Best not to get too attached to the new name.

I rarely refer to the building at all; when I do, I'll probably use the new name just to see what happens. I like to call Sox Park the Bill Veeck Memorial Field. It's useless to want things "the way they always were;" that's a comfy illusion. Things change all the time.

I'll stick with Sears. I still call my phone service Cingular, and as long as the address redirects, I pay my bill by keying in cingular.com. You know newbies from long time people by how they pronounce words and what they call things. Like Cabaret Metro.

Katie, the signage out front has been gone for a few weeks now, or at least some of the signage when i walked past the other day. it still had ghosted lettering from years of weather on one side of the building.

There would be less popular resistance if Willis Holdings was a household name in Chicago.

United Center, okay; they're a hometown company. US Cellular Field, okay; smaller cell provider but still hometown. Allstate Arena, ehh I suppose; insurance doesn't sound as cool as Rosemont Horizon, but they are hometown. Macy's, ehh; most of us at least heard of them before they bought Field's.

Willis? Never heard of 'em until a couple months ago. Barging in here, renaming a landmark we hold especially near and dear to our hearts. They're not being good neighbors or endearing themselves to us. Why didn't they rename a building in their hometown of London?

I'm calling it Willis Tower only because so many people freak out by the name change. I have no problem with people simply calling it Sears Tower. Whatevs. Like one commenter said that he still calls the Aon Center to be Amoco Building. That's cool. But when people totally freak out about it. So what?

I just want credit for being the first to call it "big willy". I'm petty like that. But it will always be the Sears Tower to me. and Sox's Park is Comiskey. However, I look forward to a Ricketts Field. Or Consumptive Park.

I am one who still calls Ogilvie Northwestern Station, but I am on board with Wesley Willis Tower, except where my young nephew who was thrilled to go to the top of it last year is concerned. Around him it will always be the Sears Tower.

I still call the Standard Oil Building the Standard Oil Building, even though I'm pretty sure they changed that name when I was just a kid. We used to skate there and it was split between kids who called it the Amoco Building and the Standard Oil Building. I don't think anybody even knew it was called the Aon Center.

The reason I call it Standard Oil is because that's how I learned, not out of stubbornness. That urge will probably be even strong with the Sears. I mean, it's the Sears Tower.

I probably will call it the Sears Tower out of habit most of the time, but I'm not upset about calling it the Willis Tower. Sears was a commercial concern that enjoyed publicity from the name when it paid the bills. Sears abandoned the building and now Willis, another commercial concern, deserves whatever it gets for its money. If the tower had been named for a heroic individual I might get upset about the renaming.

The more I think about it, I just want to call it "Carl." I think I'll start refering to all the landmark buildings in Chicago by anthropomorphic names. Navy Pier will now be called "Popeye" and the Tribune Tower looks like an "Ethel" to me.

Hey Leonardo, even though I wasn't born then, I know that the Willis Wagons were not used to solve overcrowding, but in fact used to continue segregation in the CPS. But hey I'm sure you voted for Obama so its all good

Who cares what they call it--the Sears (Willis) Tower is a @#$% eyesore by any name. Chicago has so much beautiful architecture. What a shame we are best known for this boring, boxy, featureless piece of late-modernist junk.